It Gets The Best Of Us
by Zenna95
Summary: It's been 8 years since Edward Elric joined the military. Like all state alchemists, he was paranoid; no one knew just how far his mental instability went. WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH. Songfic: Thanks For The Venom by My Chemical Romance.


_A/Ns: I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS CAME FROM. Or how it turned out this way. It came out a bit different than how I imagined... but it's generally the same._

_Disclaimer: I own neither FMA nor Thank You For The Venom. Fullmetal Alchemist is the property of Hiromu Arakawa, VIZ Media and Funimation. Thank You For The Venom is performed by My Chemical Romance, and is the property of them and their producers._

_Reviews welcome, flames will be used for the cremation of a dearly missed pair of brothers..._

* * *

No one knew what made the Fullmetal snap. Surely his ever-growing paranoia was partially to blame, but paranoia would never have turned the formerly conscientious, if short-tempered, teen into a homicidal maniac. The only thing known, at the moment, was that the blond alchemist had started to attack military officers, seemingly at random. The kills had neither rhyme, nor reason, nor any of Edward's normal, quick stab through the chest that had been displayed during the few times that he had no option but to kill. No, the corpses were decimated, and they were those of officers who had simply come too close to the volatile teenager. There were two major methods of destruction that the teen seemed to favor now: one of long, extended pain, small cuts all over their bodies, the pool of blood around the body a testament to the cause of death. The second modus operandi was a vicious slash through the body, either horizontal, across the waist, leaving blood, organs, and spinal fluid to leak over the formerly pristine floor, or vertical, an attack straight through the center of the skull, cutting the body perfectly in half. The blond continued his rampage across Central military headquarters, heading in no discernible direction. It did not help whatsoever that the madman, while using his blade to fight, was a skilled alchemist. Of course, it was only a matter of seconds between the beginning of Edward's attack and the calling of his younger brother. Said younger brother was advancing cautiously. Though he had been outfitted with a gun, the arm holding it was held limply at his side, muzzle of the weapon pointing towards the floor. Currently, the military had orders to shoot to kill, but one did not take down one's only remaining family easily. Blazing, furious golden eyes held fearful bronze, both brothers waiting for the other to make a move.

It had been rather easy to find the wayward state alchemist- his trail of destruction was not exactly subtle- but he had sized them up quickly. Alphonse had insisted on being in front of the group, asserting that he was sure his brother would never hurt him. Havoc, Hawkeye, and Mustang stood behind the teen, all poised to attack if Edward made the slightest indication of intent to continue his mad rage.

_Sister, I'm not much a poet, but a criminal _

_And you never had a chance _

_Love it, or leave it, you can't understand _

_A pretty face, but you do so carry on, _

_And on, _

_And on_

More used to reading his brother's eyes than his actions and words, Alphonse held his brother's gaze, seeing emotions that few would normally detect in the elder Elric. Confusion, fear, panic, and the look of the hunted that had shadowed his face since he had joined the military all fought for dominance behind those fiery yellow eyes, and the brunette swallowed.

"Niisan..." If it was possible to talk his brother out of this, rather than have him shot down by the military, he would do so. However, Ed seemed to not notice- or care about- this particular thought of his little brother.

"You're not my brother! Don't you fucking call me that!" Briefly, Al wondered if this had anything to do with that mission in Caillerston last week. Ever since he had returned, Ed had been avoiding him like the plague, watching him warily whenever forced into the same room. Pain joined the fear on the younger's face. To be told that by his only family... it stung. He swallowed. If he had to drop the familiarity to convince his brother not to be killed, then so be it.

"Fine then. Edward. Calm down. What is it?"

"You know perfectly well what the hell 'it' is, bastard!" The blond lunged forward, golden eyes blazing, dodging the flying bullets and flames, ducking behind the brunette and using him as a shield. For the first time in his life, Al cursed the fact that he was taller than his older brother. A flesh hand fisted in his shirt, smearing blood into the white fabric, and what control he had over his actions was torn to shreds. He tried to backpedal, to hide behind the military officers who could do nothing while his brother used him as a shield, but failed as the stockier teen braced himself, making himself a deadweight. The weight of two heavy metal limbs certainly didn't help, either.

"No, I don't, Ed! What's making you act this way?"

"The fact that you've all got me trapped here, pretending to be people you aren't! Give me my little brother back!"

_I wouldn't front the scene if you paid me, _

_I'm just the way that the doctor made me, on, _

_And on, _

_And on, _

_And on_

Golden eyes flashed in fear as Ed stared into his confused younger brother's eyes.

"Save me..." The fear was pushed aside, replaced with malice and fury. With a vicious snarl, the elder Elric moved to slash at his brother. The automail deflected the reflexively fired bullets, sending them flying uselessly into the walls. Although it was happening in front of him- hell, happening to him-, Al didn't realize what was going on until he felt the excruciating pain at waist-level. He couldn't tell the extent of his injuries; the pain was all-encompassing, driving all thoughts from his head, save his brother's confused, golden eyes. The blond extracted his arm from his little brother's side, watching impassively as blood pooled around the brunette.

_Love is the red of the rose on your coffin door _

_What's life like, bleeding on the floor, _

_The floor, _

_The floor? _

_You'll never make me leave, _

_I wear this on my sleeve_

_Give me a reason to believe_

"Al... no, he's not... no! Stop it, _stop it_, STOP IT!" He collapsed to the floor, knees pulled up, bloodied hands covering his ears and dripping red into his once-pure golden locks. The military officers watched in confusion, not sure what to make of this sudden change

"Shut the fuck up, shut up, just shut up!" His eyes opened once more, and the blond hauled himself to his feet. Blood dripped from his face, arm and hair, making him seem all the more deranged. Alphonse's blurring eyes tracked his brother's movements as he backed away, lifting his chin.

"They want me. Shoot." His arms stayed limp, golden eyes closed.

_So give me all your poison _

_And give me all your pills _

_And give me all your hopeless hearts _

_And make me ill _

_You're running after something that you'll never kill _

_If this is what you want, _

_Then fire at will_

The three military officers regarded the abrupt change in countenance with caution. By no means did they want to kill the young alchemist, but with his mental instability, it was possible this was a ruse to make them lower their guards. That was a risk no one was willing to take.

"Calm down, now, Fullmetal. There's no reason to attack us, nor for us to harm you." A hollow laugh rang through the hallways as the golden-haired teen focused his eyes on the one who had spoken.

"Yeah right. What the hell did you do with the bastard Colonel? He'd have torched me by now." The yellow-eyed one focused his gaze on the woman.

"Hawkeye, she never had mercy on anyone, let alone me. She'd have shot me on sight for doing this to her comrades." He gestured at the bodies around him, dead military officers leaking blood on the marble floor. Ed's eyes found Havoc's blue pair.

"And Havoc? He may have liked me, but his loyalty to the military and his commander would have had me dead by now. So nice try, but I'm not fooled."

"Edward, calm down. I'm sure we can reason through this like rational adults, not crazed maniacs." Hawkeye's eyes never left the teen's. Therefore, she was the first to notice the crack in his facade, as fear and panic overtook the cocky, derisive smirk of only moments before.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Shoot me already! You could at least do that if you want to help me as much as you claim!" Golden eyes were wide, pleading, begging them to kill him.

_Preach all you want, but who's gonna save me? _

_I keep a gun on the book that you gave me _

_Hallelujah, lock and load! _

_Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent sun _

_Beneath the mark of the scar that makes you run, _

_And run, _

_And run_

"Boss, we don't want to shoot you. But we will, if we have to." The teen moved forwards, arms limp at his sides, eyes boring into the blue pair of the lieutenant. The officers backed up as a unit, still not trusting the runaway alchemist. He stopped, closing his eyes.

"Kill me." It was an order, not a request.

"Havoc, don't." The black-haired alchemist quickly countered his subordinate's repeated demand.

"I'm ordering you as a superior officer, Lieutenant Havoc. Kill me. You've got a gun; use it."

_You'll never make me leave _

_I wear this on my sleeve _

_Give me a reason to believe _

_So give me all your poison _

_And give me all your pills _

_And give me all your hopeless hearts _

_And make me ill _

_You're running after something that you'll never kill _

_If this is what you want, _

_Then fire at will_

"Boss, really... just come with us, we'll make sure the fuhrer doesn't get to you, you'll be sa-" The blond cut off the older man.

"Don't you see what I've done, Havoc?" The teen's voice cracked as he gestured at the carnage around him, the bleeding bodies... the corpses that would soon include his only brother, his dearest brother, the brother who had given him a reason to survive and fight his way back here from Germany, from death.

"I've killed your comrades- men you've worked with, under, and above- I killed my own fucking brother! Kill me, damn it!" The blond lunged forward, grabbing ahold of the older man's uniform top before any of them could react. Remembering the disastrous aftermath of the last time Edward had had someone in this position, Hawkeye withdrew her pistol; the long-ranged gun she had carried earlier had a higher possibility of injuring Havoc as well. The lieutenant held up his hands, unwilling to antagonize the teen further. The blond had tears of desperation in his eyes, and at these close quarters Havoc could see the emotions roiling behind them: fear, panic, and a kind of twisted dementia.

"Look, Boss... calm down. Let's get through this." He ignored the blood soaking into his uniform, concentrating on distracting the teen. He, too, remembered Alphonse's fate, and was in no hurry to reach the same end. In the corner of his eye, he had seen Hawkeye draw the handgun and understood her intent perfectly.

"There's no 'getting through this'! There's no reason for me to live, damn it! Not without Al!"

_You'll never make me leave _

_I wear this on my sleeve _

_You wanna follow something _

_Give me a better cause to lead _

_Just give me what I need _

_Give me a reason to believe_

Havoc swallowed; the teen was getting hysterical. Slowly, he nodded.

"All right, Boss. We'll... we'll do it." He glanced at his superior for confirmation, and got a nod from the black-haired man. It was mostly for show; the three officers had come to the same conclusion as soon as Havoc had been taken captive.

"We just need you to back up a bit. You're too close to hit." Ed nodded once, releasing his target and stepping backwards. He looked at the gun leveled at him and smiled slightly.

"Shoot." A single gunshot echoed down the hallway, signaling the end of the Fullmetal Alchemist.

_So give me all your poison _

_And give me all your pills _

_And give me all your hopeless hearts _

_And make me ill _

_You're running after something that you'll never kill _

_If this is what you want, _

_Then fire at will... _


End file.
